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Con couple makes ₹42 lakh through fake air tickets, held
The couple, identified as Rahul Chaddha and Preeti Sharma, ran the racket under the garb of a company, Holiday Machine, in Phase 10, Mohali
Police have arrested a couple for duping multiple people of a total of ₹42 lakh by selling them fake international air tickets to various countries.
The victims, some of whom paid double charges for premium tickets, learnt of the fraud on reaching the immigration counters at airports.
The couple, identified as Rahul Chaddha and Preeti Sharma, ran the racket under the garb of a company, Holiday Machine, in Phase 10.
A laptop with MS Word files of fake air tickets, and WhatsApp chats between the couple and the victims have been recovered from them.
As per deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Priya Khera, 15 residents have filed complaints against the couple till now. They had fled to Himachal Pradesh and were arrested from Garhshankar, Hoshiarpur, after they returned to Punjab.
Khera said, “The accused were nabbed while investigating the complaint of Navjeet Kaur, a resident of Sector 20, Panchkula.”
The DSP said Kaur, in her complaint, had said the accused duped her of ₹1.11 lakh by giving her fake air tickets to Canada.
Chaddha had sent an air ticket to Kaur via e-mail and on finding it to be fake, she filed a case. The couple was booked after preliminary investigations.
Khera added, “They have duped multiple people by giving them fake tickets. The victims would find out that the tickets were fake at the immigration counters and were forced to buy fresh tickets at high prices.”
Were under debt
As per police, the accused were under heavy debt and had borrowed money from private financiers. They were planning to escape to Dubai. But police issued a look-out circular against them.
They had been hiding at a relative’s house in Ballowal, Hoshiarpur, after returning from Himachal Pradesh. The accused were produced before a local court and sent to judicial remand after being in police custody for seven days.
